book-of-ramen

Author: u/Ramen_Lord

Top down approach
Noodles
- wheat
- alkaline salts (kansui)
Soup
- chintan - clear and light
- paitan - cloudy
Tare
- shoyu - made of soy sauce
- shio - made of salt (doesn’t contain soy sauce)
- miso - newcomer in the ramen tradition. thicker and adds body
Toppings
- proteins - eggs, tofu, chashu etc
- aroma boosters - alliums contain MMP, which boosts savory & meaty flavors
- texture providers - bamboo shoots, beansprouts, carrots; crunchy things pretty much
Aroma Oil
- neutral/vegetable oil infused with aromatics

Collagen conversion to gelatin
- Gelatin can increase viscosity of the liquid
Aroma and flavor extraction
- Speed and quantity of extraction increase with temparature
- Aromatics give out finite aroma, so boiling these for too long can lead to loss of flavor; counterintuitive
Unlike in western and french cooking, brownining/charring of meat or aromatics before boiling them is very rare.